Slips and falls may sound comedic, but these accidents are serious and can result in significant injuries like broken bones, concussions, scrapes, bruises, or worse. In some cases, though, someone injured from a slip and fall accident can seek compensation for the damages they experienced.
If you are injured by slipping and falling on the property of someone else and suspect that negligence may be the reason for your injury, contact a Cicero slip and fall lawyer as soon as possible. An experienced personal injury attorney could help you pursue the compensation you deserve.
A Detailed Approach
Slip and fall cases can be very difficult to prove in court because they rely on evidence of the property owner’s negligence. This means that the key to a successful claim often lies in a very detailed analysis of the accident that allows the plaintiff to prove the defendant’s liability in court. For example, whether the owner is considered negligent in a case or not may come down to the amount of time they knew a certain repair needed to be made and failed to do so.
By getting help from a skilled slip and fall lawyer in Cicero who knows how to sift through evidence effectively and efficiently, an injured slip and fall victim could rest assured that their legal counsel is working with the utmost diligence to determine the exact cause of their accident, so the appropriate amount of fault can be attributed to the property owner.
Premises Liability Law
The specific area of personal injury law that slip and fall cases typically fall under is known as premises liability law. In a nutshell, this area of civil law determines how much fault a property owner or manager bears for an injury that occurs to a visitor on their land or property.
As mentioned previously, many slip and fall cases depend heavily upon reasonable foreknowledge of a hazard on the property in question, such as a spill in a grocery store that is not cleaned up or cordoned off. If a court determines that the property owner reasonably should have known about a hazard but did nothing to address it before it caused injury to a visitor, they could be held civilly liable for any resulting damages.
In addition, the class of visitor the injured plaintiff falls into could further affect the outcome of a case. Under 740 ILCS 130, also known as the Illinois Premises Liability Act,” property visitors in Cicero may fall into one of three categories: invitees, licensees, and trespassers.
Invitees and licensees are people who are invited onto property for business or social purposes, respectively, and are owned a high duty of care by property owners to protect them from foreseeable harm. Conversely, Cicero property owners and managers do not owe trespassers a duty of care, aside from a prohibition against intentionally or knowingly causing harm to them.
Slip and Fall Accidents in the Workplace
Sometimes, slip and fall accidents can occur at work. The basic principles of premises liability law still apply in that the injured person must show in court that the accident occurred due to the negligence of the property owner or manager. However, workplace accidents often have the added wrinkle of involving workers’ compensation. A qualified slip and fall attorney in Cicero could further explain an injured worker’s options in such a scenario.
How a Cicero Slip and Fall Attorney Could Help
In Illinois, most personal injury claims have a statute of limitations set at two years. This means that the injured person must file their claim in court within two years of the initial accident or risk losing their legal right to pursue compensation from the responsible party.
If you were injured by slipping and falling, a dedicated Cicero slip and fall lawyer could ensure that all paperwork is filed on time, advocate on your behalf in court, work to collect and preserve evidence, and help you fight for the highest possible compensation for you and your family. Call today to get started.